Carl Halbig and Wilhelm Simon in 1869 founded a porcelain factory for the production of toys and dolls in the Waltershausen (Grafenhain) area of Thuringia, Germany. The production of dolls could be found in many areas of Germany but the Waltershausen area had a reputation for quality doll production. Here could be found the raw materials necessary for doll production such as Kaolin for porcelain, abundant forests with wood for the kilns and for doll parts and, most important, much inexpensive labor both skilled and unskilled.Read More +